Film 4Institutional Research

What is a British film?

A setting in the UK? or A focus on British people abroad? A predominantly British cast? A storyline about some aspect of British life? Based on the work of a British author?

The importance of a national film industry

Significant returns for the UK economy through film making, inward investment, film exhibition, DVD rentals and sales, film exports

The UK Film Council estimates that a successful Brit film will make up to 70% of its revenue outside the UK

Question If a film addresses a domestic

audience about culturally specific themes, is it likely to find wider distribution difficult?

Will non British people want to see the film?

What significant advantage do British filmmakers have over European filmmakers?

British Cinema and Hollywood British film production companies have co-

production and distribution with Hollywood studios

‘British’ films can be funded and distributed by US companies

Decisions on which British films to produce and how to market them are often based on the tastes of both domestic and American audiences

Hollywood – a brief overview Hollywood is built around studios Companies who aim to make money from

films Why are Hollywood blockbuster movies so

successful?

The Challenge of Hollywood In general Hollywood has been able to

continually re-invent itself by responding to a changing marketplace and taking advantage of new opportunities offered by new technologies

Recent British Cinema

British film has become more confident in expanding its range to include a wider cross-section of ethnic groupings, gender groupings and cultural groupings

Promoting diversity and offering a more representative and inclusive national identity

Slumdog is a recent example!

A distinctive cinema? 180 million tickets sold yearly Inward investment to

improve the cinemagoing experience

80% of admissions come out of mainstream American distributors

British ‘themes’ and values

Hollywood realised that there is serious money to be made in international distribution so they invest heavily

They retain the rights to their films so secure profits for many years

British film industry is production led whereby distribution is usually through an American company

Any money made is not going back into the British film industry

‘Cottage’ industry

More challenges

2004 – UK output 27 British film industry unable to respond to

increasing audience demand Hollywood has diversified and strengthened

to develop links with other media and delivery platforms creating vast media empires

Global market at $63 billion in 2003 US takes 80% of this global market

FilmFour A British production company – finances British films 1982 – 1998 known as Channel 4 film Part of channel 4s remit was to experiment and

innovate and cater for audiences not addressed by other channels

Nowadays they fund around 20 films per year A number of films are by first time feature

screenwriters or directors They look for distinctive films which will make their

mark in a competitive cinema market Television premieres on FilmFour Channel and Channel

4 2 years after theatrical release

David Rose, commissioning editor, “a preference for contemporary and social political topics”

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) portrayed the homosexual relationship between a white fascist and a Omar, born in Britain to Pakistani parents.

Main audiences were contemporary critical audiences in the 20 – 30 age ranges

Before Laundrette, a large percentage of the British population went largely unrepresented

1996 Starring Ewan McGregor

in his 2nd film Directed by Danny Boyle

a British director A co-production with

Figment Films, Polygram and The Noel Gay Motion Picture co.

Budget $3,500,000

Trainspotting Marketing David Aukin, Head of Drama at Four Films “it

isn’t really about drugs…it’s a buddy movie” US critics compared the movie to Kubricks ‘A

Clockwork Orange’ Both are anti-social-realist films dealing with

subjects – gangs, violence, drugs – which are stylised and fast-paced.

Both are independent films which shocked the critics and audiences

Marketing However Trainspotting was more an object of youth

culture or popular culture than it was cinematic Britpop was Trainspotting's main vehicle to integrate

youth subculture into popular culture. Polygram put large sums of money into a sophisticated

marketing and branding strategy including posters and a soundtrack

Knew film would appeal to clubbers and ravers so targeted these – Underworld’s Born Slippy became a massive hit from the soundtrack

Film gained distribution in the US although it did need subtitles!

Synergy The ‘brand’ Trainspotting Soundtrack Posters DVDs Copied of the screenplay Reprinting of Welsh’s novel

featuring the poster on the cover

Music cross-promotion

Four Weddings and a Funeral 1994 Starring Hugh Grant and

Andie MacDowell Co-production with

Polygram and Working Title

Budget $6,000,000

Marketing Played upon aspects of

national identity Played upon the more ‘naïve’

elements of Britishness Hugh Grants quintessential

fumbling middle class gentleman

Appealing to an American audience

A universal storyline of romance and a feel good happy ending

Slumdog Millionaire

2008 Funded by Film4 Co-production with Celador and Pathe Directed by Danny Boyle Budget $15,000,000

1990s under David Aukin

Typical cost rose from £400k to £1.8million

Trainspotting and Four Weddings were hugely successful although appealed to very different audiences

Trainspotting was a low budget film which had carved itself a niche audience

Representation and Cultural Identity FilmFour films explored and developed ideas

of cultural hybridity East is East The first British film representing hybrid and

ever changing cultural and social mix in Britain making it into mainstream multiplex cinemas.

Brick Lane (2007) won a BAFTA